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Pericytes in Brain Injury and Repair After Ischemic Stroke

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Abstract

Pericytes are functional components of the neurovascular unit (NVU). They provide support to other NVU components and maintain normal physiological functions of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The brain ischemia and reperfusion result in pathological alterations in pericytes. The intimate anatomical and functional interactions between pericytes and other NVU components play pivotal roles in the progression of stroke pathology. In this review, we depict the biology and functions of pericytes in the normal brain and discuss their effects in brain injury and repair after ischemia/reperfusion. Since ischemic stroke occurs mostly in elderly people, we also review age-related changes in pericytes and how these changes predispose aged brains to ischemic/reperfusion injury. Strategies targeting pericyte responses after ischemia and reperfusion may provide new therapies for ischemic stroke.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) grants NS094573 and NS092618 (to X.H.) and NS095671 and NS089534 (to J.C.) and the American Heart Association (13SDCG14570025 to X.H.).

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  1. Department of Neurology, Pittsburgh Institute of Brain Disorders and Recovery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 200 Lothrop Street, SBST 506, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA

    Wei Cai, Huan Liu, Jingyan Zhao, Lily Y. Chen, Jun Chen & Xiaoming Hu

  2. Department of Neurology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yatsen University, 600 Tianhe Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510630, China

    Wei Cai & Zhengqi Lu

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  1. Wei Cai
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  2. Huan Liu
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Correspondence to Zhengqi Lu or Xiaoming Hu.

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Cai, W., Liu, H., Zhao, J. et al. Pericytes in Brain Injury and Repair After Ischemic Stroke. Transl. Stroke Res. 8, 107–121 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12975-016-0504-4

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